


Kara Thrace And Her Special Birthday

by leiascully



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Community: fluff_friday, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-14
Updated: 2008-11-14
Packaged: 2017-10-03 07:11:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiascully/pseuds/leiascully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This," Lee said, indicated the room with a grand sweep of his hand, "is your birthday party, Kara Thrace.  Prepare to enjoy it."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kara Thrace And Her Special Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: S3  
> A/N: For the very first [**fluff_friday**](http://community.livejournal.com/fluff_friday/)! A happy little birthday scene that never, ever, ever happened in canon.  
> Disclaimer: _Battlestar Galactica_ and all related characters belong to Ronald Moore, NBC Universal, Sci-Fi Channel, and Sky One. No infringement is intended and no profit is made from this.

"Close your eyes," Lee said.

"Lee..." Kara said, in that suspicious tone that meant she was probably about to hurt someone.

"Close your eyes, Starbuck," he insisted. "That's an order. Or I'll close 'em for you."

"Whatever that means," she said, but she squeezed her eyes shut. He cupped his hand over her face just to be sure.

"Okay, I've got you," he said. "Start walking."

"Do I need to remind you about the retribution?" she said. He could feel her cheeks twitch as she licked her lips.

"Nobody knows more about the retribution than I do," he said meaningfully. He pushed his hips against hers, moving her legs by putting his knees at the backs of hers and nudging until she walked. "Walk." He guided her down the corridor. "Okay, left. No, left, Kara. Gods only know how you manage to fly with that sense of direction."

"I don't fly blindfolded!" she protested, leaning back against him.

"Step up," he said, grinning, and frog-marched her up the couple of stairs. "I'm gonna let you go for a second, but keep your eyes closed, okay?"

"Is _that_ an order?" she snarked, but she bit her lip and kept her eyes squeezed shut. He paused, tempted to pinch her and make her jump, but there was the threat of retribution, after all. He turned instead and pressed the button to make the door open.

"Keep 'em shut," he warned, and put his arms around her again. "Let's go. One, two, three. Big step. Open!"

Kara opened her eyes. She was in the Admiral's quarters: the old man and Tigh and Roslin and Helo and Athena were all standing around a table which held a rather lopsided cake with one candle propped up in some lumpy icing.

"Happy birthday, Kara," Lee said in her ear, his hands still on her hips.

"You guys," she said helplessly. "What is this?"

"This," Lee said, indicated the room with a grand sweep of his hand, "is your birthday party, Kara Thrace. Prepare to enjoy it."

"I know you wanted me to forget," Adama said, "but then again, I have access to your records." He grinned in a way that made him look like his son. "And Saul got the chocolate for the cake."

"Captain Apollo turns out to be a dab hand in the kitchen," Roslin said, smiling until she dimpled. "Major Apollo, rather."

"The President helped," Lee demurred.

"Don't be modest," she said, coming over and touching his arm, beaming at Kara. "All I did was measure."

"Saul and I licked the spoons," Adama said.

"Nobody can say Saul Tigh doesn't get involved in the festivities," Tigh said, raising his glass to his lips, looking more than a little tipsy.

Gaeta scrambled in, out of breath. "Did I miss it? Did you sing already?"

"Don't worry," Helo said, his arm around his wife. "Nobody was gonna sing without you."

"He's the only one who remembers the damn words," Cottle said in the doorway, Anders behind him. Lee moved prudently away from Kara. "You missed your calling, son. If we ever need a lounge act, you'll be the first recruit. Kara, congratulations, you're another year closer to the grave. How are you feeling?"

"Feelin' good, Doc," she said. "Thanking the gods I'm not a wrinkled old man with an attitude problem." He waved her off affably.

"Happy birthday, babe," said Anders, his hands jammed in his pockets. Kara smiled tentatively at him.

"Some of us have duties to get back to," Gaeta said in a mock-fussy way.

"Yeah, yeah," said Athena. "You just want to break into the cake."

"My motives are multiple," Gaeta allowed.

Adama pulled out a silver lighter and lit the candle. "Quick, sing before it sets off the smoke alarm and we're sealed in here forever."

Gaeta launched into song immediately, his pretty tenor lost in a muddle of voices singing in various keys. Kara stared at the little flame of the candle and tried not to sniffle.

"Oh, frak me," said Tyrol behind her. "We missed it."

"I wonder why," said Racetrack, punching his arm and pushing in around him. "Somebody was blocking the whole hallway." She knocked her hip into Kara's in a friendly way. "Way to age, Starbuck." Skulls and Hot Dog slapped her shoulders. Cally smiled from the corner.

"Got a little afterparty planned in the ready room," Hot Dog said in a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Good to know," Kara stage-whispered back.

"Cut the cake already," said Tigh. "It won't be your birthday forever, girlie."

"Make a wish," Lee said, handing her a knife.

"She has to blow it out first, Lee," Roslin said in gentle reprimand. "Go on, Kara. Don't tell anyone."

Kara nodded, held her breath for a second, and then blew out the candle. Everyone clapped; Helo whooped his approval. Kara cut uneven slices of cake and passed them around on the napkins that Roslin produced from somewhere. Anders broke off a corner of his piece and fed it to her, which made Racetrack whistle.

"Too good to eat my cake, Starbuck?" she said, and held out a morsel, so that Kara had to go around the room having cake pushed into her mouth, laughing and wiping frosting off her lips with the back of her hand. If she licked Lee's thumb, nobody knew.

"All right," said Tyrol, having smeared cake over Kara's cheek. "I gotta get back." There was a general murmur of assent and congratulation, and a lot of friendly slaps as the room cleared out until it was just Adama, Roslin, Lee, and Kara again with the remains of the cake.

"We got you a little something," Roslin said, her shoulders lifting with the pleasure of the gift. "Lee picked it out."

"It's nothing much," Lee said hastily. "Just, you know." He turned the dial on the wireless. Her father was playing. "Somebody had a recording, and I couldn't get them to give it up, but I did talk them into lending it to the concerts program tonight." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday."

Roslin came around the table and wrapped Kara in a warm hug. "I'm grateful for all you've done. You really are an asset to this fleet. We are truly blessed to have you still with us. I can't imagine where we'd be without you."

"Thank you, sir." Kara held on as Roslin gave her one last squeeze and stepped away, letting the Admiral come forward.

"Happy birthday, Kara," Adama said, kissing her on the forehead. "I'm proud of you, even if you spend more time in hack than any child of mine ought to."

"Thanks, old man." She took a deep breath, fighting a sniffle.

"Now get back to work," he said dismissively, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes, sir!" she said, and tossed him a salute, so that as she left with Lee at her shoulder, she heard him laughing.


End file.
